A Comparison Between The Way to Rainy Mountain and Love Medicine

A Comparison Between The Way to Rainy Mountain and Love Medicine

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In the novels Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich and The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday, the reader gains views of Native American culture, both past and present, through two disparate means of delivery. Both authors provide immensely rich portrayals through varying literary devices in efforts to bring about a better understanding of problems contemporary Native Americans face, especially regarding their own self-identity.

The story of Love Medicine revolves around a central character, June Kashpaw, and the many threads of relationships surrounding her, both near the time of her death, and in what has gone on before. The novel is an exploration of a family web that June was a key component of. Her character is a pivot point…show more content…

Complications of plot are sparse, but are evident in an episodic fashion, as each small episode has its own complexion and related complication that normally resolved within itself. In this regard of episodic plots, the technique is similar to Love Medicine.

Erdrich appears to have a series of plots, or "plots within plots" in Love Medicine, At times, it is difficult to anticipate where a plot exists until it becomes apparent in its crisis resolution. Again, much like Momaday's work, the plots are episodic--the different stories are interconnected and feed into one another, but are capable of standing alone withy their own plots. Erdrich makes heavy use of the characters themselves to advance the plot for each episode, and in inter-relation between each episode., whereas Momaday relies more on past story as a guide to present context.

Characterization is the strength of Love Medicine. The humorous, but tragic, exploits of eccentric characters are extremely vivid in her story, and force a constant chnage of viewpoint for the reader as more aspects of characters are revealed. The characters in this novel are a woven pattern of intricacy possibly far surpassing the reader's ability, and especially surpassing the characters themselves. This may be by design, as those things unresolved and disjointed by the end of the story can promote an incomplete and unsettled set of emotions

Literary analysis: The Way to Rainy Mountain, N. Scott Momaday
Novarre Scott Momaday's book The Way to Rainy Mountain is both a personal and anthropological exploration of the ways of the Kiowa Indian tribe. Momaday was raised on a Navajo Reservation, but was educated within the 'white' university system, where he first gained a reputation as a poet. His work straddles the borders of the genre of autobiography and ethnography. The book is the story of a tribe, a chronicle of both history and myth…

Love is the basis of our existence. It affects our every moment, dreams, and hope for the future. Love has caused wars, ended lives, toppled governments and has been expounded on by poets, musicians, philosophers, and literates throughout the centuries. Research from Syracuse University shows that it takes about a fifth of a second to fall in love and it affects almost every part of our body. Our brain releases dopamine, a natural chemical that gives us energy and optimism. Love is similar to a…

plot, though written only four years ago, Cold Mountain is a romantic saga which depicts the travels of Inman, a Confederate soldier, at his attempt to reunite with his love Ada. Homer 's The Odyssey and Charles Frazier 's Cold Mountain tell of the struggles faced by the man and woman of each novel 's relationship. Although these works are written thousands of years apart, both incorporate one man 's effort, after fighting war, to return to his love while encountering several obstacles that hinder…

McKay had the exposure and opportunity to make trips to different part of the world hence different moods in the context of his poems. The aim of this essay is to make the comparison between the Flower of Love and Jasmines poems written under the Harlem of Shadows collection during the Harlem Renaissance period. In doing the comparison, the poem will making an analysis of the context or setting that influenced the message in the poems, and the classification of the poems and how the title of the poems…

in life is love, and be loved in return” (Eden Ahbez). “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (Cor 13:7). Love also influences all things. It is a powerful force that drives people to do things they would normally not do. In the news, there are several instances of murder in the name of love or robbing a bank because a person needs money for the person they love. There are also everyday instances of moving cross country for the person you love, leaving the…

“How to Be Another Woman” teaches many lessons on relationships and how getting to know someone can increase emotional feelings between two people. The stories that show some direct correlation along with significant differences can best be seen between “Cathedral” and “How to Be Another Woman”. The main reason why I picked these two stories was because of the correlation that develops over time. Cathedral shows that you can’t judge someone or put them down before you know them and their story. These…

The Way to Rainy Mountain is by no means a normal novel. It does not have the same cookie cutter formation as most books, where the plot goes from beginning to end in neat little chapters. It is not just a simple book, it is a book that has meaning, and it is a book that makes its readers think. It is a book about connections from the past. These connections are like puzzle pieces that the main character, N. Scott Momaday, has to put together in his journey to truly understand his heritage. Through…

English III (2013) (S2453406) Sierra Turner
Points possible: 20 Date: ____________
This is your journal activity. Complete the prewriting steps below before moving on to the journal response.
Read and Paraphrase
Read the text below from The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday:
Great green and yellow grasshoppers are everywhere in the tall grass, popping up like corn to sting the flesh, and tortoises crawl about on the red earth, going nowhere in plenty of time. Loneliness is an aspect of the…

Analysis of N. Scott Momaday's The Way to Rainy Mountain
The Way to Rainy Mountain has a distinct pattern in its form. In each section, it has three parts, each of whose separateness is clearly marked by its own place in each page and its own typeface: the legend, the history, and the personal memory. The pattern, however, never makes it simple for the readers to understand the novel. Rather, it confuses and bothers the readers by placing them where the double edges of reality meet.…

Individuality”
What is Love medicine? Love Medicine is a fiction novel by Louise Erdrich. The book is based on Native American stories, which cover three generations, fifty years, several families, and there are many relationships. Love Medicine is a collection of short fiction stories of “people that are living on Chippewa reservation in North Dakota”. Louise Erdrich makes the story with use of flashback. Love Medicine is not on particularly one theme but there are some…